2006 Lotus Sport Elise and Sport Exige Cup

Sport Division of Lotus Brings Two Sold-Out Cars to the U.S. Just 15 supercharged Exiges and 50 tweaked Elises headed here.

Lotus has a Sport division à la BMW's M division and Mercedes-Benz's AMG shop. The big difference is that Lotus pumps out fewer cars annually than either the M division or AMG. You might say it's a small operation — it has nine employees. But being small doesn't stop it from producing some special Lotus models.

At the New York auto show last April, Lotus announced it would bring two Lotus Sport products to the States, the street-legal Lotus Sport Elise and the track-only Lotus Sport Exige Cup. Before we drove them, we wondered just why the hell someone would want one of these things.

What makes the Lotus Sport Elise special are adjustable Öhlins dampers with remote reservoirs and an adjustable front anti-roll bar. Compared with the other Elises brought along for comparison purposes, the Sport Elise felt more composed and relaxed on the track, more confidence-inspiring. In addition to chassis tweaks, the Sport Elise gets a beefier clutch and stainless-steel brake lines. Fifty will be sold here, all in Saffron Yellow with gray stripes. For $54,995 each.

Lotus's advertising tag line used to be, "For the few who know the difference." That line could definitely apply to the track-only Exige Cup. For those 15 customers, a $78,990 car that you can't drive on the street probably makes sense. Lotus Sport starts with an Exige without airbags and adds a fuel cell, racing seats, a fire-suppression system, a roll cage, some choice Yokohama slicks, and a supercharged version of the Exige's 1.8-liter Toyota four-cylinder. It's the same 243-hp engine that powered the Exige 240R last year. On the track, aside from the higher level of grip provided by the racing tires is the impressive midrange power of the supercharged engine. Where the Exige will occasionally want for power, the Exige Cup is always ready to leap forward with 174 pound-feet of torque (36 more pound-feet than a standard Exige).

After several hours of lapping these cars, we're wishing Lotus would build more. Well, at least one more Sport Elise. For our long-term fleet.